Thursday, October 9, 2008
If given a choice does that mean freedom?
In a handout in class, it discussed the notion that just because someone is given a choice, that does not mean they are necessarily free. In the case of the fast food worker, although they choose to work there, it is an area of "forced choosing" not of "free choosing." However, this argument is based on the concept that each decision and the choices included in it are independent from one another. This is not the case. Life is full of decisions, paths, and options. As each decision is made other possible options are closed and other paths are open. Each decision is not independent of one another. For example, pertaining to the fast food worker, the question needs to be asked: why are they in this position in the first place? Did they not succeed in school? Did they go to jail for petty theft or drugs? If they did not succeed in school was it because of lack of effort, a poor situation, or a lack of resources? Did they go to jail because they could not afford food or to get money for illicit drugs? A person does not merely end up at a decision. The decisions and consequences that are a result shape a person's life, not just one "forced choice" to enter the fast food industry. To say that every person deserves to have the same opportunities, when the effort and ambition is not present would result in a loss of productivity, money, and of innovation in a country.
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The idea that our past decisions affect the choices that are available to us has been brought up in this blog but has really been absent in our discussion of choice and freedom. By ignoring this reality we are essentially discussing the situation in aside from reality. What this does is it frames the working class laborer as a victim of government, big corporation but most importantly as a victim of circumstance. However, circumstance here is void of personal responsibility. Are we to believe we have no control over our circumstance? In one sense no, we have no control of our circumstance- we are limited to the choices we can make, we cannot create choices that aren’t feasible. We are forced to make whatever choice is best for us. What is so wrong with being forced to do that; that’s the same decision we would have made regardless what are choices were- it’s called rational decision making. If our past choices don’t affect the choices that are available to us now then our pasts do not matter. What are the consequences of that?
There is freedom for us to make a decision where to work and what type of work that we want to do. But, a part of the community has to consider the entire factor for them to work. This community has no freedom to choose the work. For example, they have low academic profile and there is no other choice that they can take. In this case they are not free to choose and there is no other path that they can choose. The example of people that has freedom in choosing work is who that has high academic profile and who is able to work anywhere as they wanted so. Conclusion is, the freedom in work must consider who, why, what, and where. Who has the freedom to choose the work? Why they choose that work? What is the work? Last but not least, where does they have to work?
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